Disable new search bar in Office 365

I have VS. 2008 (built 13127.20164) and it wont work for me 😬

kimman1 said:

I have VS. 2008 (built 13127.20164) and it wont work for me 😬

This is baffling
I'm on 2008 b13127.20378 and it doesn't work for me
Has anyone got any workaround to put the search bar back where it belongs?

Been a while now, is there any movement on this?

Guardian Angel said:

Hi, robgr

Yes, the key is ConfigContextData. I tested the registry file, and you are correct that it did not work. I fiddled around with the registry file, and it turns out, each key needed to be on a separate line for it to work. The original registry file was on the same row. I tested the new registry file, and now it seems to perform correctly. Attached is the corrected registry file. Follow the same procedure as before and let me know if it works this time.

Guardian Angel

I followed the steps but still, I have the search bar up in the right corner. Any idea? in the case can not move it to the same place, can we move it to the lift side?

This was just applied to my computer as well. Tried the initial registry change and never saw any change in the location of the search bar, so I haven't done any of the following steps.

Just got this dreadful update last night - registry tweak hasn't had any effect.

Running Office 2019 Version 2010 (Build 13328.20292)

Any ideas anyone???

PLEEZE!

Guardian Angel said:

Hi, robgr

Yes, the key is ConfigContextData. I tested the registry file, and you are correct that it did not work. I fiddled around with the registry file, and it turns out, each key needed to be on a separate line for it to work. The original registry file was on the same row. I tested the new registry file, and now it seems to perform correctly. Attached is the corrected registry file. Follow the same procedure as before and let me know if it works this time.

Guardian Angel

Hi Guardian Angel,

I've been looking for the same solution, but your reg file doesn't work on my computers, both with Windows 10 professional with the latest patches and Office 365 Business, version 2010 (build 13328.20292). Do you know what might have changed?

It don't works for me too with Office Pro Plus 2016 on Windows 10.

Hello @robgr @the1ulike @gwystyl and others,

I am sorry for not looking over this thread and responding to your issues quickly. I have tried the registry hack, and I also see that the registry file does not work anymore. Last night, I looked for answers as to why this happened. From my research, Microsoft made the new search bar location permanent for new versions of Outlook/Office365, removing any workaround to relocate the search bar back to where it's supposed to be.

According to Microsoft on the outlook feedback forum here: Search At The Top Option – Got an idea?

We investigated adding an option to support search in the old location. Unfortunately, at this time we cannot support making the search box location configurable. Future Microsoft Search updates are incompatible with the old location. There is also significant risk in maintaining the old search component due to increased complexity that leads to a higher rate of bugs. As one of the most used controls in Outlook making sure that we provide a stable and reliable search experience is one of our top priorities.

Therefore, going back to an old version of Outlook (16.0.12527.20194) or moving to a different Microsoft Update Channel seems to be the only option for now. I have tried going back to an old version of Outlook, search at its old location with success. The only downside, Microsoft Office updates needs to be disabled, which will disable all office updates from going to the new/current version.

If this is something anyone is interested in, here is a quick way to go about doing it.

1. Open Outlook and go to File, Office Account, Office Updates and disable Microsoft Office Updates
2. Close Outlook and all other Office Applications
3. Open the Command Prompt (Run as Administrator)
4. Copy and Paste the following code to the Command Prompt: "C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared\ClickToRun\OfficeC2RClient.exe" /update user updatetoversion=16.0.12527.20194
5. Microsoft Office will update to version 16.0.12527.20194
6. Once done, click on close and close the Command Prompt
7. Open Outlook, the search bar would be back to its old location.

Maybe someday, Microsoft will be able to configure Outlook search location in the future.

Guardian Angel

Thanks - I tried the reg file, signed up here just for that and sadly it just didnt work... still looking ... edit: err - im trying that last thing Thanks again